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Enid Ablowitz: Act locally following disasters like the Boulder flood

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Posted:
09/22/2013 04:56:19 PM MDT

Updated:
09/22/2013 04:56:42 PM MDT

As of this writing, it is raining again... hard.

We needed water, but it arrived in an unimaginable deluge wreaking havoc on Boulder and other Colorado communities. And this won't be over anytime soon. The rains will eventually stop, but the destruction and devastation, the terror, the loss and the sadness will have far reaching implications for a long time to come.

Everyone has been affected. Everyone has a story. People have had life-threatening experiences, some feared they would die, and, tragically, some did.

Our community is suffering, individually and collectively. We are seeking, and giving, help. We are connected in our shared experience.

Centuries ago, John Donne wrote, "No man is an island," and, in the same meditation, "Never end to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." These words were written at a different time, in a different context, and with different intent, nonetheless they reflect us, now, today.

None of us can come out of this without relying on others. None of us can isolate ourselves from the reality: it is here and now and it is harsh.

We cannot ignore the families who are mourning the loss of loved ones, or who are fearing the worst because they cannot locate or reach them.

We cannot ignore the impact of the flooding that has stranded or isolated friends and neighbors in the mountains because of washed-out roads and mudslides.

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We cannot ignore the people whose homes are no longer habitable.

We cannot ignore the people who are facing financial ruin because they do not have insurance.

We cannot ignore those who are alone, and afraid and don't know where to turn.

There are stories of heroic acts of bravery in the face of life-threatening danger.

There are stories of people providing shelter to strangers who were nearly swept away trying to evacuate their flooded home.

There are stories of groups of people going house to house to move furniture and rip out saturated carpeting.

There are stories of volunteers pumping out a synagogue to assure that the services for Yom Kippur could go on.

There are stories of bravery, of generosity, of shared humanity.

This is the time to act locally. This is the time to be grateful for what could have and didn't happen to you and your family. This is the time to look at the relief organizations in this community who are playing a role in emergency services, in disaster relief, in providing shelter or food or transportation or myriad other things to people in need.

If you generally give to community service organizations, now is the time to make an extra gift and to be generous. If you don't give to community service organizations, now is the time to make your first gift.

There are many organizations making a difference every day in our community. Choose one. If you have no idea where to start, go onto the Community Foundation of Boulder County's website at commfound.org/cultureofgiving/nonprofits to search for nonprofits based on category.

And don't stop pitching in and giving a helping hand. Reach out. The bell tolls for you.

Postscript: By the time this column is published, the sun will have emerged through the gray.

But now the reality will set in. This is not a short-term problem. And while many people stepped up in the immediacy of the moment, people are just beginning to understand the long road ahead.

One example speaks volumes: There are reports that the infrastructure reconstruction and repairs made necessary by the floods across Colorado could cost as much as half a billion dollars.

The bells are still ringing.

Enid Ablowitz is a certified fund raising executive (CFRE), a certified planned giving specialist (CPGS) and the associate director of the University of Colorado's Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities. She has been a nonprofit leader and donor advocate for more than 20 years.

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